Game Preview: Checkers at Norfolk (March 19, 2014)

The Checkers hit the road once again – albeit for a much shorter time – to conclude their season series against the Norfolk Admirals tonight.

With a head-to-head record of 5-2-0, Charlotte has already clinched the GEICO Challenge Cup, which is awarded to the team with the most head-to-head points at the conclusion of the eight annual match-ups. It did so in the most recent meeting on March 4, when the Checkers scored twice in the last 4:30 of regulation time to erase a 2-1 deficit.

Following the quick one-game trip that will be a welcome respite from the run of 10 consecutive road games they concluded one week ago today, the Checkers return home to host the San Antonio Rampage on Friday and Sunday.

Charlotte

As the Checkers look to resume their winning ways following Sunday’s 3-2 loss to Lake Erie that ended a three-game winning streak, they hope a little rest will do them some good.

The team took Monday off following that back-to-back set that featured a quick turnaround from their Saturday night victory to the next afternoon’s rematch. Excluding travel days, they won’t have the opportunity to take many more days away from the rink in the month of March, which features a season-high 16 games.

“It’s tough and I think it showed this past weekend, but in saying that, I think March seems to be a time of year where they pack the games in for every team,” said coach Jeff Daniels. “We’ll catch some teams dragging a bit and we got caught this weekend. It’s about managing the days in between games and making sure the guys are rested.”

Rested or not, the Checkers may have to make do without Chris Terry, who is tied with Zach Boychuk for the team’s scoring lead. The Carolina Hurricanes, who have a few injuries but not enough to necessitate an emergency situation more typical of recalls from the AHL, summoned Terry on Monday to help boost a struggling power play.

It marks the second NHL stint of the season for Terry. During the first in November, the Checkers went 0-6-0 without him.

“We’re a better team now than we were then, but we’ll have to bring a guy up and other guys will step up and fill different roles,” said Daniels. “We can’t let one guy not in our lineup affect us whether it’s a call-up or injury. We’ve just got to keep moving forward with what we have in the lineup.”

To Daniels’ point, the Checkers would ahve to add forward from the ECHL level via a recall from the Florida Everblades or a professional tryout contract from another team in Terry's absence. Greg Nemisz and Brendan Woods remain injured and will not be available to face Norfolk.

Update: The Hurricanes reassigned Terry to Charlotte this morning. He is expected to be available for tonight's game.

Norfolk

Another team fighting for its playoff life, Norfolk, which led the East Division as recently as Friday, is currently just above the cutoff line in the Eastern Conference’s eighth spot. Including the loss to Charlotte that ended a four-game win streak, the Admirals have won only two of their last six, though both of those victories were important head-to-head match-ups against the ninth-place Hershey Bears, who they lead by four points.

“It’ll be a playoff type of game,” said Daniels of tonight’s match-up. “They’re battling to stay in the top eight and we’re trying to get into the top eight.”

The Admirals are coming off a three-in-three weekend played entirely on the road in three different cities. After dropping the first two games in Binghamton and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, they picked up a 3-2 victory in Hershey on Sunday.

The parent Anaheim Ducks made a trade with significant AHL ramifications since the Checkers last faced Norfolk, with Alex Grant, the Admirals’ top-scoring defenceman with 27 points, heading to Binghamton in exchange for Andre Petersson. Petersson instantly became Norfolk’s top scorer with 44 points in 52 games, including two goals and two assists in five games as an Admiral, though Emerson Etem is still the team’s best in terms of points per game (42 in 39).

As of now, the Admirals look as though they will have their full allotment of high-end forwards for this game, with Rickard Rakell coming back from Anaheim last week to join Etem and Devante Smith-Pelly in Norfolk. The Admirals, who suffered a shutout loss on Saturday, rank 23rd in AHL offense with an average of 2.58 goals per game.

John Gibson, one of the top goaltending prospects in hockey, made 35 saves in Sunday’s win but did allow a shorthanded goal from the length of the ice to get the Bears within one. He also started the previous night’s game but left in favor of Brad Thiessen after allowing four goals on 26 shots through two periods.

With a 2.34 goals-against average, .921 save percentage and a league-leading five shutouts, Gibson is a big reason why the Admirals are the league’s second-best defensive team (2.50 goals per game) and hold the top spot in penalty killing (86.9 percent). That said, the the team in front of him is typically well-organized.

“They don’t give up a whole lot, so you’ve got to earn your chances against them and be willing to pay the price to get to those scoring areas,” said Daniels.

Checkers Notes

Against Norfolk

In 34 previous meetings between Charlotte and Norfolk, the Checkers have a record of 19-13-3, including a 5-2-0 mark this season. Prior to Charlotte's 3-2 win in the last meeting in Norfolk on March 4, the home team had won each game.

With that most recent victory, the Checkers captured their second consecutive GEICO Challenge Cup by ensuring that they will finish the eight-game season series with more head-to-head points. In the previous two competitions, Charlotte won with a 5-3-0 record last season but went just 2-5-1 against the eventual Calder Cup champion Admirals in 2011-12.

Zach Boychuk and Chris Terry lead the Checkers with seven points in seven meetings with Norfolk. Emerson Etem (eight in seven), Devante Smith-Pelly (seven in seven) and Max Friberg (six in six) are all over a point per game against Charlotte.

Successful Segment

The Checkers won seven of eight games between March 1-15, marking the fourth time they have done so in franchise history. Previous 7-1-0 segments include one earlier this season (Jan. 3-24), one from last season (Jan. 4-20) and one from the team's inaugural campaign in 2010-11 (Nov. 11-28). The Checkers have never won eight times in any nine-game segment, with a loss on March 16 preventing them from doing so this month.

PK Heats Up

The Checkers have killed 18 consecutive penalties in their last three games since March 12 while chipping in their third shorthanded goal of the season on March 16. Their current stretch includes an 8-for-8 performance on March 15 that tied the most opportunities they have ever given up without allowing a power play goal in a single game.

Prior to the current streak, the Checkers killed 13 consecutive penalties over a four-game stretch from Feb. 26-March 4 but then allowed five goals in their next 10 opportunities during a three-in-three weekend from March 7-9.

Tough Luck

Despite making 40 saves, one shy of his season high, Mike Murphy lost for the sixth time in his last seven decisions by way of a 3-2 defeat against Lake Erie on March 16. Murphy has received three total goals of support in his last three starts, all losses, while partner John Muse has received three or more goals of support in each of his last five starts, all wins.

Playoff Picture

With 14 games to play, the 10th-place Checkers currently have one game in hand on eighth-place Rockford, who they trail by four points, and one game in hand on ninth-place Oklahoma City, who they trail by one point.

Of the Checkers' remaining games, five will be be played against the two teams immediately ahead of them (one against Rockford and four against Oklahoma City). Five will be played against teams below them in the Western Conference standings (two against 12-seed Iowa and three against 13-seed San Antonio).

All He Does is Win

Including a career-high, 43-save effort against Texas on March 12, Checkers goalie John Muse has won each of his last five starts, including four since returning from injury on March 7. It is his third streak of five or more wins this season, including a six-game streak from Nov. 30-Dec. 19 that tied a franchise record set twice by teammate Mike Murphy in the 2010-11 season.

Now 21-11-0 on the season, Muse has won 18 of his last 24 decisions dating back to Nov. 23 and is one shy of tying the team record for most wins in a single season set by Justin Peters last season and by Justin Pogge in 2010-11.

A winner of two NCAA National Championships with Boston College and an ECHL Kelly Cup with the Florida Everblades, Muse has an all-time AHL record of 39-21-3. He ranks second in the Checkers' AHL history with 38 wins, two more than Peters and five fewer than Murphy.

The Big Three

Along with Texas (four), the Checkers are one of two teams to feature three or more players among the AHL's top 20 scorers. Zach Boychuk and Chris Terry lead the Checkers and are tied for seventh in the AHL with 56 points, while Aaron Palushaj ranks 11th in the league with 55.

All three players have held sole possesion of the Checkers' scoring lead at one point this season and are on pace for their best scoring seasons at the AHL level. At their current pace, all three players would break Boychuk's team record of 65 points set in 2010-11, with Boychuk and Terry on pace for 70 and Palushaj on pace for 67.

Sutter Moving Up

While scoring 22 points (9g, 13a) in his last 23 games dating back to Jan. 23, Checkers captain Brett Sutter passed Zac Dalpe for the third-most points in the Checkers' AHL history (134 in 241 games). Only Chris Terry (239) and Zach Boychuk (208) have more.

Sutter, who recently played his 500th professional game on March 2, has averaged 0.71 points per game in his last two seasons with the Checkers compared to 0.33 points per game in his first five AHL campaigns with Quad City, Abbotsford and Charlotte. Despite missing 14 games while on NHL duty with Carolina this season, he ranks fourth on the Checkers in scoring with 36 points (11g, 25a) in 48 games.

Dolan Steps Up

Since moving onto a line with Zach Boychuk and Aaron Palushaj, Checkers center Sean Dolan has eight points (4g, 4a) in his last eight games. That stretch has allowed him to set new career highs in assists (nine) and points (14) while tying his career high in goals (five). Prior to this season, Dolan had 16 points in 92 career AHL games.

Dolan, a 26-year-old who has signed three consecutive AHL contracts with Charlotte since intially joining the team on a pro tryout in January of 2012, has 10 points in 15 games, including two game-winning goals, since missing 21 games due to injury.

Boychuk's Goals

Zach Boychuk's 28 goals this season top his previous career high of 23 and are the fourth-most in the AHL. He is on pace for 35 goals this season, which would break Chris Terry's club record of 34 set in the 2010-11 campaign.

Boychuk already has the third-best goal scoring season by a Checkers player, with Terry and Jacob Mikflikier (29) the only players to ever score more than his 28, both of whom did so during the 2010-11 campaign. Terry and Boychuk rank first and second on the Checkers' all-time goals list with 98 and 94, respectively.

Boychuk is tied for second in the AHL with 14 power-play goals, breaking the old franchise record of 12 set by Mikflikier in 2010-11. He has three hat tricks this season, all since Jan. 24, making him responsible for four of six hat tricks ever recorded by a Checkers skater (Mikflikier, Brett Sutter).

Power Players

In Zach Boychuk (t-2nd with 14) and Chris Terry (t-8th with 11), the Checkers have two of the AHL's top nine in terms of power-play goals this season. Boychuk has already broken the single-season franchise record of 12 previously set by Jacob Micflikier in the 2010-11 campaign. Meanwhile, Mark Flood's seven power-play goals are tied for third among AHL defensemen and for the most by a Checkers blueliner in a single season (Bobby Sanguinetti in 2011-12).

The Checkers are currently tied for third in the AHL with a 21.7 percent success rate on the power play.

Quick Hits

• Chris Terry's three-game goal streak (three goals total) and four-game home goal streak (five goals) are both the longest active steaks in the AHL.
• The Checkers finished their four-game season series with Lake Erie 25-for-25 on the penalty kill, including a pair of 8-for-8 performances. It marked the fifth time in four AHL seasons that the Checkers have finished a season series with a perfect penalty-killing record.
• Aaron Palushaj's 20th goal of the season on March 9 was also his sixth-game winner, putting him into a five-way tie for the AHL lead.
• The Checkers have earned points in 10 of their last 14 games (9-4-1), including wins in seven of their last nine.
• Mark Flood ranks second among AHL defensemen with 12 goals. That sets a career high and is the most ever by a Charlotte defenseman in a single season.
• The Checkers' eight overtime games (5-3) and four shootouts (2-2) are the fewest in the league.
• By scoring their third shorthanded goal of the season on March 16, the Checkers broke a tie with Adirondack for the fewest in the AHL. They have never scored fewer than six in a single season.
• The Checkers have three defensemen (Danny Biega, Mark Flood and Michal Jordan) with fewer than 15 penalty minutes. The other three (Matt Corrente, Keegan Lowe and Rasmus Rissanen) have at least 50 apiece and 247 combined.

Player Streaks

• John Muse has won each of his last five starts since Feb. 18
• Brett Sutter has points in each of his last four games (March 9-16: 3g, 3a)
• Chris Terry has points in each of his last four games (March 9-16: 3g, 2a) and goals in each of his last three (March 12-16: 3g, 1a)
• Matt Marquardt has assists and points in each of his last two games (March 15-16: 0g, 2a)

Milestones

• Aaron Palushaj is one shy of 200 AHL penalty minutes
• Justin Shugg is two shy of 100 professional points
• Philippe Cornet is four shy of 250 professional games
• Zach Boychuk is five shy of 250 AHL points
• Nicolas Blanchard is nine shy of 800 AHL penalty minutes
• Brett Sutter recorded his 200th professional point on March 16
• Zach Boychuk recorded his 150th professional assist on March 15
• Aaron Palushaj played his 250th AHL game on March 12

Injuries

• Greg Nemisz - missed six games starting March 8
• Brendan Woods - missed 12 games starting Feb. 22

Transactions

Incoming

• March 19 - (LW) Chris Terry reassigned to Charlotte from Carolina (NHL)

Outgoing

• March 17 - (D) Austin Levi reassigned from Charlotte to Florida (ECHL)